Teachers Union Slams Social Media Giants For Fueling ‘Conspiracies’ Over Critical Race Theory And Masks In Schools

The largest teachers union in the country, the National Education Association, has called on social media companies to stop the spread of what they deem to be “misinformation” and “violent trends,” including the debate over Critical Race Theory and masking in schools.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Pringle, the union president, wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Instagram, Shou Zi Chew of TikTok, and Jack Dorsey of Twitter, demanding that they take steps to prevent “the dissemination and spread of dangerous viral challenges and misinformation that it says pose a threat to educators and students.”

In her letter, Pringle accused these companies of seeking “to create algorithms that would increase people’s fervent use of your platforms — a pursuit of profit with no regard for its effects.”

“Our schools are the center of communities in every corner of our nation. They should be a safe place for every single student, educator, and staff member to thrive and learn. And yet, online ‘trends’ and false information that have spread like wildfire throughout social media platforms — from stealing school property and hitting school staff, to conspiracy theories on curriculum and coronavirus protocols — have helped create a culture of fear and violence with educators as targets,” Pringle wrote. “Now, across the nation we see social media pushing users to steal from schools, damage school property, and threatening to hit school staff just to get ‘likes’. Although we applaud Tik Tok for banning hashtags around this most recent trend, instances like these pop up on platforms faster than we can name them and often are only addressed after public outcry or when the glare of the media spotlight is upon them. Social media is here and has a valuable place in our society, it can bring us together, show us a glimpse of the world we might not otherwise experience and help build community—if done so thoughtfully and responsibly. That is core of the digital citizenship we teach our students, but unfortunately, it is more often the exception of what we experience. Meanwhile, these growing trends put the safety and learning of all our students and staff at risk.”

Pringle then referred to what she believed to be “the alarming growth of a small but violent group of radicalized adults who falsely believe that graduate level courses about racism are being taught in K-12 public schools because